“He cursed, and then what?”

In the gambling house, everyone was concentrating intently, even forgetting to place their bets. Hearing him stop at this point, they couldn’t help but grow anxious and pressed him with questions.

The corner of Xiao Dingfei’s mouth twitched. Rolling his eyes, he forcefully tapped his fingers on the gambling table, loudly reminding this bunch of “idle good-for-nothings” gamblers: “Get this straight—we’re here to gamble! Do you think this young master is a storyteller under some bridge? ‘And then what’? Then hurry up and place your bets! What are you standing around for?!”

This was the capital’s largest gambling house.

All sorts of people from all walks of life came here.

He had originally been a regular here and made friends with a bunch of scoundrels. However, before the Celestial Teachings and Xinzhou Army fought their way in, the gambling house owner had fled the capital in fear, taking his valuables with him. Only recently, when everything seemed settled and things appeared to have calmed down again, did he return with his family to reopen.

Without a doubt, Xiao Dingfei, who had been cooped up at home bored nearly to death, rushed over at the first opportunity upon hearing the news.

The gambling house thus regained some of its former liveliness.

Everyone here had the kind of friendship with him that came from visiting brothels together, so they paid him no mind and insisted he continue: “But you’re the only one who was in the palace that day! Not only did we not witness it, we didn’t even dare stay long in the capital. Just tell us—after Lu Xian cursed at people, what happened then?”

Xiao Dingfei looked around and saw that truly no one was placing bets.

He now wished he could go back half an hour and slap himself twice: Serves you right for not being able to hold back from bragging to others about what you know—now look what you’ve done! No money left to gamble!

Helplessly, he could only say impatiently: “What else? Making such a loud fuss at a time like that, he nearly got beaten up. Without even basic fighting skills, he was subdued in two or three moves and dragged out.”

Someone sighed: “To dare curse at that person, his courage is really something…”

Someone else didn’t quite believe it: “I’ve been to Youhuang Hall before. Boss Lu is a money-grubber, a shrewd merchant at heart. By logic, he believes in ‘harmony breeds wealth’—cursing like that doesn’t fit. Isn’t this part made up by you?”

Xiao Dingfei rolled his eyes and thought about it. Actually, his memory wasn’t particularly good. Nearly two months had passed, and he truly couldn’t remember exactly what Lu Xian had cursed. He just remembered that face filled with indignation, as if he’d been deceived.

When others questioned him, he actually did feel a bit guilty.

But after all, he was a shameless person who had begged for food throughout the countryside and been beaten on every street corner in his younger days. Xiao Dingfei would never admit it. With a few quick words trying to change the subject, he pretended to be angry: “You want to hear it, yet you don’t believe what I’m saying. Why are you so difficult to please? I say he cursed, so he cursed. If you don’t want to listen, go find someone else to tell you! Do you really think this old man is a storyteller?”

With that, he made as if to leave.

How could the people in the gambling house really let him go?

They quickly pulled him back with kind words of persuasion.

Xiao Dingfei naturally went along with it, and after refusing twice, returned to the gambling table.

This bunch finally started gambling properly.

But while gambling, their mouths weren’t idle either.

After all, what happened two months ago when the Celestial Teachings fought into the capital and entered the imperial palace had long been spreading wildly among the common folk. However, exaggerated or fabricated information made up the majority. What actually happened that day—everyone had their own version.

Some said the Emperor was killed by the Celestial Teachings’ leader.

Some said the Emperor was personally killed by Xie Wei.

Some even said Grand Princess Leyang had plotted to seize power and schemed him to death.

But the people in this gambling house had already heard all that. What they were most curious about wasn’t this.

Someone still couldn’t figure it out: “There’s no doubt this Second Miss Jiang is a femme fatale, but how is it that Lu Zhayin said it was ‘tricking a young girl’?”

Xiao Dingfei thought to himself: If I knew things that clearly, wouldn’t I have become an advisor instead of sitting here gambling with you?

He was about to find something to say to deflect.

At this moment, a scholar-dressed person sitting beside him smiled and said: “What Prince Dingfei said, if true, isn’t hard to deduce. For Grand Tutor Xie to take this realm would be as easy as reaching into a bag for something. Grand Princess Leyang at that time controlled reinforcements and also had the strength for battle. Second Miss Jiang had saved the Grand Princess, so no matter what, the Grand Princess wouldn’t repay kindness with enmity and harm her, but with Grand Tutor Xie it was uncertain. If Grand Tutor Xie controlled the realm, the realm would likely not be at peace. If the Grand Princess controlled the realm, Grand Tutor Xie might not have a good ending. So didn’t Second Miss Jiang have to choose? If she married Grand Tutor Xie, the Grand Princess would love her for her sake. Even if she hated or feared Grand Tutor Xie in her heart, she would know Second Miss Jiang’s heart belonged to him and would absolutely not settle accounts after autumn.”

Hearing this, Xiao Dingfei actually thought it made some sense.

This speaking scholar was none other than Weng Ang, who had achieved second place in the imperial examinations two years ago. Back then, he had even gotten into a feud with the Xiao clan. He was willful and unrestrained, moving through markets and streets without putting on any airs of Hanlin Academy nobility—quite an unusual character.

However, his deduction was premised on everything Xiao Dingfei said being true.

In fact, the official court statement was: The Xinzhou Army led by Xie Wei and Yan Lin was indeed a loyalist force that chased all the way to the capital and joined hands with Grand Princess Leyang to eliminate the wicked Celestial Teachings, stabilizing the nation. So Xie Wei became Grand Tutor, Yan Lin was enfeoffed as Great General, and the Grand Princess temporarily ruled as regent.

History books were written however the victors pleased.

Common people buried their heads in their daily lives—who would bother with such things?

This gambling bunch couldn’t recognize many characters, but they practically fawned over scholars like Weng Ang.

After all, that was what you called insight.

So someone looked left and right, leaned in, and asked in a lowered voice: “Then in the future, who will be Emperor?”

Weng Ang held a position in the Hanlin Academy. Hearing this, he glanced at the person but didn’t answer.

Xiao Dingfei snorted coldly: “The court argues about it all day long—who knows!”

In these past two months, quite a lot had happened in the capital.

For instance, the Xiao clan was raided. From top to bottom, apart from Xiao Dingfei, this imposter who fortunately escaped disaster, everyone with the surname “Xiao” suffered greatly.

For instance, in the mass grave outside the city, they actually discovered the corpse of the former National Preceptor, the monk Yuanji. After investigating extensively without finding who did it, they instead discovered this Yuanji wasn’t any kind of eminent monk at all. He was involved in many murder cases and had even violated women—truly worse than a beast.

For instance…

For instance, the Emperor’s throne in the Forbidden City had been vacant for a full two months with no one sitting on it—simply an unprecedented rare occurrence throughout dynasties spanning thousands of years.

By logic, with Shen Lang dead and the Imperial Jade Seal in the Grand Princess’s hands, she should support the imperial clan. Even finding a child from the imperial family to serve as child emperor would be better than leaving the throne empty like this.

But with Xie Ju’an standing in the court, who dared?

Many in the imperial clan had witnessed that bloody scene at Taiji Hall that day and were scared witless, even less daring to make any rash moves. Moreover, with a regent Grand Princess above them, even if they wanted this position, they’d have to ask if she agreed or not.

So they stubbornly couldn’t select anyone.

But every day, countless matters from provinces and prefectures throughout the realm needed the court’s mediation. Having just experienced warfare, the people needed to rest and recuperate. From household registration to taxation to the military—not a single thing didn’t require handling.

What to do?

The civil and military officials could only sit down together to discuss and handle things. Led by the original Cabinet ministers and including ministers from various departments, they convened daily in the Cabinet duty rooms to deliberate and formulate proposals. But lacking the previous step of the Emperor’s vermilion-brush批approval and seal, after formulation they submitted everything to Grand Princess Shen Zhiyi for review as a formality, then sent it unchanged to all departments and provinces.

At first, the court officials were somewhat unaccustomed to it.

But within a month, they discovered that whether or not there was an Emperor in the court didn’t seem as important as they had thought. Directives issued from the Secretariat—they were promulgated just fine without an Emperor. In fact, because they no longer needed the Emperor’s approval, memorials that arrived in the morning could be sent back to various localities or lower levels by afternoon—so much faster.

Moreover, when there was an Emperor, no matter how good an idea was, it would always be picked apart. The Emperor always had his own trusted favorites, and everyone had to be mindful of something.

Now it was perfect—completely unnecessary.

Even though there were still differences in official rank, no one truly dominated anyone else. Although factions quickly formed, everyone had the power to debate and contend, so no “one voice hall” emerged.

Furthermore, a month ago, because the Cabinet argued endlessly over “whether to plant potatoes or rice north of the Huai River” until no one would yield, leading to them grabbing “weapons” and fighting, the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Rites jointly drafted a temporary “Cabinet Regulations,” changing “proposal formulation” to “proposal voting.”

Everyone in the Cabinet had voting rights.

All directive formulations required voting. Those with the most votes were issued from the Secretariat to all departments and provinces. Cabinet “brawling” was strictly forbidden, including with rulers, inkstones, tables, chairs, vases, and cups.

Whether the Cabinet still fought now, Xiao Dingfei didn’t know.

But he figured the Emperor position was probably hopeless.

At the beginning, that bunch of old bastards kept saying things like “the state cannot be without a ruler for a single day,” urging them to establish one. But this past month, gradually there wasn’t a peep about it.

After all, if they could handle everything themselves, why keep an Emperor to be their ancestor? What sense did that make?

Wouldn’t that just be asking for trouble?

Conveniently, the Grand Princess also didn’t seem to have any intention of legitimizing her mixed-blood son, so naturally they turned a blind eye. With perfect tacit understanding, they “forgot” about “establishing an Emperor”—something that originally “mattered more than the heavens.”

Xiao Dingfei hadn’t read many books and didn’t know what this actually meant, but anyway, however the court tossed and turned didn’t affect his gambling. Thinking about it, he was too lazy to consider it deeply and directly opened his dice cup with a loud laugh: “See that? Four fives and two sixes! Big, big, big—all this money is mine now!”

Everyone immediately cursed.

But a loss was a loss. They could only watch helplessly as he scooped all that pile of money on the gambling table into his arms.

Outside the window, the north wind was cold, and along the street someone was hawking hot wontons.

Hearing this, Xiao Dingfei realized his stomach was somewhat hungry. Sticking his head out the window, he wanted to call over the wonton seller to bring up a few bowls. But just as he was about to speak, his gaze shifted and he suddenly froze.

He actually saw that Lord Zhang from the Ministry of Justice.

In this bitter cold weather, he wore casual clothes, hands tucked in his sleeves, walking along the street.

Several barefoot little beggar children holding broken bowls were begging along the way when they reached him. He stopped to look at these children, then reached into his sleeve and took out not much—two bits of broken silver and a small handful of copper coins—and placed them in their bowls.

Then he raised his hand to point them in a direction, seemingly saying something.

The little beggars all showed delighted expressions, bowed to him, and ran hand in hand in that direction.

Xiao Dingfei knew that after recovering from the war chaos, there were many more displaced people in the city. With this cold weather, Grand Princess Leyang Shen Zhiyi had proposed to the Cabinet to establish soup kitchens in various places, providing relief from the national treasury, while simultaneously re-registering household records everywhere and distributing land to settle the displaced.

After some discussion, they formulated detailed regulations and passed them by vote.

Now there was a soup kitchen in the eastern part of the city, while the yamen re-recorded household registrations on-site and issued travel permits, providing settlement for these people.

Only this Lord Zhang…

Now promoted to Minister of Justice, yet still without any airs whatsoever.

Seeing this, he couldn’t help but think of two months ago—

After all the heart-stopping events in the imperial palace, ultimately the flashing blades and swords returned to formlessness.

That young general watched for a long time, then as if in a dream, without even smiling, simply turned and walked against the tide of people. He didn’t call even one personal guard, only carried a kind of weariness and desolation tinged with the vicissitudes of changing times as he slowly walked out the palace gates.

When Jiang Xuening saw him, he had already walked far away.

But she didn’t go forward to chase after him. She just watched from afar like that, a faint glimmer gathering in her eyes.

To this day, Xiao Dingfei still couldn’t describe his strange feeling at that moment: He felt she didn’t seem to be simply watching a certain person, but rather watching the gradually receding past and former dust…

The Black Armored Army and Xinzhou Army both withdrew from the Forbidden City.

That bunch of Celestial Teachings trash were naturally arrested.

Xie Wei, Shen Zhiyi, and a group of court officials remained to deliberate on matters. Other people naturally wished they could leave this blood-stained palace as soon as possible and left immediately when they could. He of course greased his heels and fled faster than anyone.

But upon exiting the palace gates and reaching the streets, everything he saw was war-torn chaos.

The prosperous capital had become an empty city.

The high-hanging plaques of inns and medicine shops had fallen to the ground, shattered into pieces. The exquisite carved windows of pleasure quarters had been broken open with large holes, a complete mess. The wine flags that normally fluttered at taverns had been blown by wind into the street, covered with many dirty and mottled footprints…

It was at this time that Xiao Dingfei saw Zhang Zhe.

In the deserted tavern with doors and windows wide open, tables and chairs toppled, bowls and dishes shattered on the ground, yet amidst all this devastation, a quiet and orderly space had been carved out.

One square table, one cup of clear wine.

That Lord Zhang sat alone at the table, slowly drinking a pot of wine by himself. After sitting for a while, he rose, placed a few coins for the wine on the counter covered with a thin layer of dust, and then came out.

On the street swept by wind, not a single pedestrian could be seen.

The desolate city was like a dream.

Yet Zhang Zhe, as ordinary as in former days, walked through all this desolation, turned into a quiet alley, called “I’m home” toward the door, lowered his head, pushed open the door, and walked inside.

That day in the capital was clearly one where winds and clouds gathered, danger lurked everywhere, and everything changed in an instant.

Those who valued their lives either scattered and fled or hid in their homes.

What kind of person would, on such a day, find an unmanned tavern, quietly drink a cup of clear wine, carefully leave a few coins for the wine, then return home as if it were any ordinary day?

Xiao Dingfei was truly dazed for a moment.

Someone beside him called: “Lord Dingfei, what’s wrong? Are we still gambling or not?”

Only then did Xiao Dingfei snap back to attention.

Looking again, the street ahead no longer showed any figure, nor the running beggar children, nor the peddler carrying a shoulder pole selling wontons.

He turned back with a smile: “Nonsense, this young master’s luck is running strong today—of course we’re gambling! This time I won’t let you leave until you’ve stripped off your pants!”

Everyone booed him.

He didn’t care. After happily putting away his money, he prepared to place new bets.

Someone suddenly asked strangely: “Speaking of which, it was one thing when you were called Xiao Dingfei before, but now that everyone knows you’re a fake, why do you still use this name?”

Xiao Dingfei froze.

Who was he?

Born without roots, drifting wherever—even his name was picked from someone else’s discards.

The gambling house suddenly quieted.

The person who had just spoken belatedly became uneasy.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, Xiao Dingfei propped up his leg and became cocky, acting shamelessly carefree: “What else? Call myself Zhang Ergou or Li Erdan? Wouldn’t you find that tacky! What you’re called doesn’t matter—whether you can freeload food and drink is the key! This name of mine—the girls at Cuihong Pavilion call it so nicely.”

The previously tense crowd suddenly burst into laughter.

The topic immediately changed to which girl at Cuihong Pavilion was better.

Xiao Dingfei gambled until dusk was approaching before planning to return home to properly think about what to give the beauty and that Xie fellow for their wedding in a few days. However, his front foot hadn’t even crossed out of the gambling house when his back foot heard the teahouse waiter across the street run back from somewhere, saying with some excitement to those inside: “Just heard news from the court—that Second Miss Jiang is moving into Kunning Palace!”

“Pfft!”

Xiao Dingfei spat out a mouthful of tea.

What kind of joke was this? Hadn’t they still not settled on an Emperor candidate?!